Maybe Even Ancient Warriors Can Like Hot Chocolate
by caspie
Summary: Dean hates sitting in yuppie establishments like Starbucks, but free wifi always brings him back. Today it isn't so bad, though, when Cas shows up and brings him the burger he really wants. Written for Nas 3


The free wifi always brought Dean back to coffee shops. He'd really prefer a diner, but you don't get a whole lot of free internet in a good old fashion diner. So, he picked the research over the burger and did his job, no matter how much he'd rather pick the burger. So as Dean sat and typed by the window, he picked up his coffee, black, manly as you can get in a Starbucks. As he put the paper cup to his mouth, he glanced up and out the window.

The last time Dean really remembered being in a coffee shop was that place in Oregon with the levis. Nice small town with a couple of big bads and lots of cursed items. He shook his head, he really hadn't wanted to put those ballet shoes on, at all. Dean watched for a moment as people walked by. It had been snowing, just light flurries, when he walked into the Starbucks, but now it was snowing heavier. The snow was big wet flakes, now. He frowned and swallowed the hot, bitter coffee, missing the burn of whiskey from a flask, but he was laying off the alcohol, especially while at normal coffee shops.

The snow was drifting, piling up against the poles, but just melting away where people walked. When the wind picked up, Dean could see the shadows in the snow and they looked like dark feathers. Oddly familiar dark feathers. He scrunched his eyebrows together and frowned. Couldn't be. He hadn't seen Cas in a few weeks. Not since that weird Acme job they worked. It was just delusions again, flashes of what he wanted. He turned back to the laptop and kept scrolling through old newspapers, looking for the answer to the current monster of the week. He kept sipping at the coffee, waiting for Sam to call with any new info.

"Hello, Dean."

Dean turned around, surprise and confusion on his face.

"Where the hell have you been, Cas? You just show up, work a couple cases, and disappear again? What the hell man?"

"I had other business to attend to. Wrongs to make right. But I brought a peace offering."

Dean took a second to really take Cas in. His trench coat was dark in patches, like snow had been melting, and some of the snowflakes were caught in his hair, big, solid, wet snowflakes. His tie was all disheveled and backwards again. And in his hands, Cas had the exact right thing to win Dean over. Dangling before Dean was a bag that clearly held classic bacon cheeseburgers and some hand-cut fries.

"Cas, right now, do you know how much I love you?"

Cas blushed and dropped the bag on the counter next to Dean's coffee. Dean could smell the burgers and all he wanted was to reach in and pull one out or grab a fry to swipe through some ketchup. But, he didn't. He was busy watching Cas. Watching Cas run a hand through his hair, an oddly human gesture, and shake away the melting snow. Watching the heat recede from his ears and then his face. Watching the way Cas' nose was red from the cold. It had been a long couple weeks, since Dean had seen Cas. Too damn long.

"Sorry, Cas. I know you've got other shit to do. It's just, we could use the help. Hunting down the big mouths is hard without you. We need you for the hunt..

"I need you. I need you watching my back... Standing beside me. I need you here. Just ask for help next time, instead of running off without me."

Cas nodded his head to indicate he got it. Dean knew that Cas seemed more human since he got back from Purgatory, but he ignored it. Cas would tell him if something were wrong and if something really were wrong, he would notice it, he knew Cas better than anyone. As he gave Cas another once over, he took another swig of his coffee, getting nothing but bitter dregs. Cas' mouthed quirked up on one side when Dean frowned at his cup.

"I can get you another coffee."

Something in Cas' eyes was fond and possessive. He didn't ask what Dean wanted, he just turned and walked away. The turn was stiff, straight, just like Cas' posture, remnants of the soldier that Cas had been throughout history. Dean admired the purposeful stride and shook his head at the pity that was the over-sized trench coat. Mid shake, Dean stopped and realized he'd been wishing for a view of Cas' ass. He could feel his brow all bunched and his lips pursed, as Cas turned to look back a question on his face. Immediately Dean un-knit his brow and gave Cas a how-you-doin face, complete with raised eyebrows and smirk, he half meant it as a joke, which meant he half meant it seriously. When Cas turned back to the cashier, Dean shook his head and turned around. He had no idea what he was doing, checking out his best friend, his best _angel _friend.

As Dean bit into the burger Cas had brought, he closed his eyes. God, this burger was good. Smoky bacon. Melty cheese. Juicy burger. He sighed out his enjoyment as he chewed and when he opened his eyes, he started back. Cas was standing there staring. Staring right through Dean, like he could see the pleasure of the burger in Dean's soul. It was a bit unnerving, but it was just so Cas. The way Cas smiled, Dean could see the quirked-up corner of his mouth and a light in his eyes. It was really nice to see Cas smile.

"You gonna stand there and stare all day or you gonna sit down and join me? Damn good burgers."

Cas put down Dean's new coffee, black like he wanted, and then put down a second cup. He slid into the tall chair beside Dean and picked up his coffee, but when Dean watched him pull the cap off, it wasn't real coffee. Cas had some frothy, foamy, yuppie crap. In fact, that looked like whipped cream on top, mirroring the snow drifts outside. Dean took another bite of burger and watched Cas drink his "coffee." Somehow, the sweet topping seemed really appealing as it approached Cas' mouth. And when Cas paused to lick a bit of whipped cream off the side before drinking, Dean couldn't help but stare.

"You gonna drink your girly drink or you gonna lap it like a cat with cream? For an ancient warrior, you certainly like desserts."

"Angels don't need to eat or drink... I didn't need to eat or drink, but I find certain things pleasurable. Burgers and hot chocolate with whipped cream are both things that make me very happy."

He smiled his big at that. A real smile, not a smirk, not a knowing little smile. This smile showed his teeth and made his eyes crinkle up and Dean could see a little bit of whipped cream above Cas' top lip. It looked really tempting. Dean flicked his eyes around the Starbucks, checking that nobody was watching.

"Man, it's not even coffee? You're drinking hot chocolate with whipped cream? Angel can drink an entire liquor store and fight wars, but picks hot chocolate to drink, _awesome_."

The awesome was a bit sarcastic, but a bit impressed and completely irrelevant as Dean reached his hand out. Cas watched Dean's hand move and tilted his head, showing he didn't understand. As Dean's fingers wiped the whipped cream from Cas' mouth and pulled away. Cas' smile faded behind a blush that showed how confused and embarrassed he was. Dean licked the sweet cream from his fingers and watched the blush grow deeper on Cas' face.

"Maybe hot chocolate isn't so bad. Hot chocolate with whipped cream while watching the snow pile up makes me pretty happy too."

And Dean laughed. He didn't know why this made him so happy. Didn't know why he had just licked the whipped cream that came from Cas' mouth. Didn't know why he wished he had licked it straight from his best friends mouth. But right now, he just knew that Cas was back by his side, he had a burger, and it was snowing, it was a damn fine day.

He pushed the laptop back a bit and pulled the burger closer to him, and leaning both elbows on the table, Dean kept eating his burger and smiling. He turned his head to watch Cas continue enjoying his hot chocolate, cautiously keeping the whipped cream from his face. And when "Carry On My Wayward Sons" rang from his pocket, Dean flicked the phone open to hear Sammy saying he was on his way to the coffee shop. Maybe Starbucks wasn't so bad.


End file.
